Fred Thomas-Dupuis used his signing bonus from Oliver Wyman to defer the start of his employment. It wasn't that he wasn't thrilled to be joining the firm—but he had a movie to finish. Thomas-Dupuis, now an associate at OW, and his brother Marc's work "Places Everyone" wasn't wrapped and delivered to the Montreal World Film Festival until five years after commencement. Consulting: How did your filmmaking career start?
Thomas-Dupuis: My filmmaking "career" started while I was working on my master's in engineering at McGill University. I had the chance to spend time with my brother [Marc] helping him with some film projects. I [got] lured in for a bunch of reasons. Number one, the thought of doing something creative rather than analytical was very appealing.
Number two, I thought I could offer my brother some help
by putting a bit more structure into the work. Number three,
I thought it would be great for the resume!
Consulting: How did "Places Everyone" come to be?
Thomas-Dupuis: We [contacted] everyone we knew to tell them about our [plan], and we were absolutely amazed how many people wanted to participate. And then we were equally amazed at how many of them dropped out as soon as we gave them work. A few stuck around and helped (for free). The production lasted 30 consecutive days in the summer of 2003. I then received an offer from Oliver Wyman; I was thrilled and accepted, but delayed the start of my consulting career. Two months before I was slated to start work at OW, we got a letter from Telefilm Canada (the film financing agency) stating it would invest in the project. It took another two years to wrap up the editing. In 2006, the film was accepted at the Montreal World Film Festival.
Consulting: How do you balance your OW and film work?
Thomas-Dupuis: It would be impossible to work on the pre-production and shooting of a film while holding any full-time job. However, given that the most demanding parts of the project were done before joining OW and that OW has been very accommodating by allowing a leave when necessary, it has been possible to balance the two. But in the distant future, I do plan on working on another project.
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